iMac - OS X - Will Not Start / Safe Boot / Boot to CD

[Lightninghawk]

Unit:

2007 iMac with OS X

Problem:

Will not boot. Upon pressing power button it attempts to go through startup procedure then grey-screen and error message (You Need to restart your computer. Hold down the power button until it turns off, then press the power button again.)

I have come to understand this is called a "Kernel Panic"

I have been researching this issue all day. I cannot get it to safe boot by pressing the shift key. It does pull a progress bar but ultimately fails and returns to the kernel panic.

I have attempted to start from the CD to attempt utility disk, but I cannot get it to boot from CD. I have held the C key down. I have pressed it repeatedly. I have used it in combination with the alt/control/command keys. All have failed.

If anyone has any idea what might can be done I thank you in advance for your assistance.

~Daniel

[jingda]

Hi Daniel,

To boot your iMac from a CD, insert the disk into your Mac and restart it. When it boot up, hold down option key until you see a lock ( in some case ). If not, you will see a white screen and an image of your internal hard disk and the mac osx install disk. Click on the disk and follow the onscreen instructions. Try repairing your disk using the disk.

If it fails, bring your iMac to an Apple service technician for help.

[dfxgrid12]

Ouch, people still use these?